You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 663

The second Ruby walked in, the VIP lounge went dead silent. You could hear a pin drop, the tension so thick it almost made you want to laugh.

Bella shot a glare at the sales associate next to Ruby, her eyes sharp enough to cut glass. The salesgirl ducked her head, trying to shrink into herself, clearly wishing she could vanish.

With a practiced flick, Bella set her coffee cup down and smoothed the sleeve of her Chanel suit—the latest season, of course. “Ruby, when did you get here? We were just talking about you!”

Ruby smiled, strolled over, and set her purse on the sofa before sinking down gracefully. “Oh, really?” she said, crossing her legs. “What about me?”

Someone else jumped in with a laugh, trying way too hard to sound friendly. “We were just talking about your company’s new movie! We were saying we should rent out a theater to support it.”

Ruby’s eyes swept the room, picking up on every detail. “Is that so? Well, if you do, make sure to send me a picture so I can post it on Twitter and give you all a shoutout.” She paused, glancing around. “But there are a lot of us here. Wouldn’t it make more sense if everyone hosted their own screening? What do you think, Bella?”

Bella froze for a split second, annoyance flickering in her chest, but she forced herself to keep smiling, holding on to her fresh new image as the fiancée of Golden Bay’s rising star. “No problem at all!” she said, her voice just a little too perky.

Ever since she got engaged to the Golden Bay heir, Bella acted like she owned the place—a peacock with her feathers on full display. Just a few minutes ago, she’d been the first to look down on Ruby, but now, after just a few casual comments, Ruby had her cornered with no way out.

“Sure, we’ll book a screening too,” someone else chimed in. This crowd was full of followers and Ruby knew it. She’d been around long enough to see through the glitz. All these girls acted like they lived on millions, but most of them were just spending their parents’ monthly allowance—fifty grand a month, pretending it was five million. If the money ever stopped, they’d have nothing.

She was actually curious—would the Golden Bay family really let a future daughter-in-law meddle in their company’s business?

Bella didn’t expect Ruby to say yes so easily. She’d meant to put Ruby on the spot, but now she was the one feeling rattled, almost losing control of the whole conversation.

Who would have guessed that Ruby, the girl everyone used to resent for her confidence, would now be calling Bella every now and then to ask when they could finally meet up? More than once, Bella’s fiancé was right beside her when the phone rang, and she hadn’t even dared to answer.

“Oh, and by the way,” someone piped up, “are you going to the Martin Group gala next week? If you’re going, we’ll go too. But if you’re not, we might just skip it.”